American Standard Energy Corp Announces First Quarter 2012 Results and Provides Financial and Operational Update

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- American Standard Energy Corp ("American Standard" or the "Company") (OTCBB: ASEN.OB), a domestic oil and gas exploration and production company, announced results for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

First Quarter Financial Review

For the three months ended March 31, 2012, American Standard had revenues of $5.0 million, an increase of $2.6 million or 109%, from $2.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The average realized crude oil and gas sales prices for the first quarter 2012 were $102.98 per barrel and $2.44 per one thousand cubic feet (MCF).

Revenues were driven by incremental production in the Permian Basin and the Bakken, as well as the acquisition of producing properties in the Permian Basin, higher oil production and improved realized pricing. Production for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 was 68,137 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), an increase of 25,811 BOE, or 61%, from 42,327 BOE for the quarter ended March 31, 2011. Production mix in the quarter was 69% oil and 31% gas compared to 57% oil and 43% gas in the quarter ended March 31, 2011.

The Company also received revenues in the first quarter per the terms of an acquisition completed March 5, 2012.  At closing, the Company received revenues from the acquired properties as of December 1, 2011.  Revenues excluded for GAAP reporting that were received for production in January and February 2012 are detailed below, and actual revenues are reported on an adjusted basis as follows:

"We continued to execute our growth strategy in the first quarter of 2012," said Scott Feldhacker, Chief Executive Officer of American Standard. "Through the successful execution of our core strategy to acquire prime leasehold acreage and production in key conventional and unconventional basins, we now hold a multi-year drilling inventory in very prolific U.S. domestic basins."

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 was $1.8 million, an increase of $1.4 million when compared to $0.4 million in adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ending March 31, 2011. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. Reconciliation to GAAP net income (loss) can be found at the conclusion of this release.

American Standard posted a net loss from operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 of $35.6 million, or $0.98 per share compared to a net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 of $0.8 million, or $0.02 per share. The net loss for the current period primarily related to the recognition of $33.8 million in non-cash stock-based compensation expense.

American Standard's capital expenditures for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 totaled $67.1 million, compared with capital expenditures of $13.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011. Approximately $9.7 million in capital expenditures in the first quarter of 2012 were dedicated to development, drilling and completion activities, while approximately $57.4 million of capital expenditures was related to leasehold acquisitions.

Operational Update

American Standard continued its leasehold acquisition and development strategy in 2012, increasing its overall leasehold acreage from 40,100 acres to approximately 112,400 acres representing an increase of nearly 180% from December 31, 2011. During the first quarter of 2012, the Company acquired an additional 72,300 net leasehold acres in the Williston Basin and Permian Basin.

The Company participated in 5 gross (0.5 net) Eagle Ford wells in La Salle and Frio counties that began full production in late March.  An additional 15 (1.5 net) wells were completed and waiting to be hooked up to full production at quarter end.  In the Bakken, 28 gross (0.6 net) Bakken wells were scheduled for completion early in the second quarter of 2012.  In the Permian Basin, the Company completed 3 gross (3.0 net) Wolfberry wells in Andrews and Reagan Counties.  The Company has scheduled 5 gross, (5.0 net) Wolfberry and Wolf Fork wells in Crockett and Schleicher Counties for the middle of the second quarter 2012.

With the completion of the most recent acquisition, the Company now holds approximately 29,000 net acres in the Permian Basin with over 500 potential drilling locations.  Given the concentration of assets in the Permian, the opportunity for both liquid and natural gas development and the ability to control the pace and cost of development, the Company has decided to focus the majority of its capital resources in the basin.

"While we believe our collective asset pool can create compelling value for investors, we also believe that the scope and scale of our Permian holdings are the gem of our portfolio," added Feldhacker. "Knowing that focusing resources on our most valuable assets is the most efficient path toward value creation, our focus in the coming months will be on developing our core Permian assets. While we will continue to seek ways to create value across our portfolio, we will also look for ways to harvest value from those assets to accelerate development of our Permian properties."

About American Standard Energy

American Standard Energy Corp is an oil and gas exploration and production company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Company's oil and gas asset base is comprised of operated acreage in the Permian Basin and non-operated acreage in the Williston Basin and South Texas Eagle Ford resource prospects. The Company currently holds approximately 112,000 combined net acres in the Permian Basin, Williston Basin, Eagle Ford, Niobrara, Eagle Bine and Gulf Coast.

For additional information on American Standard Energy Corp visit our website at: www.asenergycorp.com

Forward Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this report regarding our financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations, industry conditions, and indebtedness covenant compliance are forward-looking statements. When used in this report, forward-looking statements are generally accompanied by terms or phrases such as "estimate," "project," "predict," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "target," "plan," "intend," "seek," "goal," "will," "should," "may," "continue," "opportunities" or other words and similar expressions that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. Items contemplating or making assumptions about, actual or potential future sales, market size, collaborations, and trends or operating results also constitute such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents American Standard files, from time to time, with the Securities and Exchange Commission; specifically, American Standard's most recent Form 10-K and the cautionary statements and risk factors contained therein. Those documents contain and identify important risk factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and important factors (many of which are beyond our Company's control) that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, including the following: oil and gas prices, our ability to raise capital, general economic or industry conditions nationally and/or in the communities in which our Company conducts business, changes in the interest rate environment, legislation or regulatory requirements, conditions of the securities markets, changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines, financial or political instability, acts of war or terrorism, other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technical factors affecting our Company's operations, products, services and prices.

We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and assumptions about future events. While our management considers these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control.

CONTACT:

American Standard Energy Corp.
480-371-1929

SOURCE American Standard Energy Corp.